"Nine Lives" is a light comedy directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Kevin Spacey and Marina Weissman. It reflects the importance of family, affection, and companionship from the perspective of a cat named Maopants. The sexually charged and hilarious story will be released nationwide on September 9. Domineering CEO Tom Brand (Kevin Spacey) is a complete workaholic who often neglects his family and friends because of his work. On the birthday of his daughter, Rebecca (Marina Weissman), he hurried to the pet store to buy a cat for her. He returned to the company due to official business. At the top of the building built by the company, there was a lightning strike, and Tom was petted by a cat.
The shop owner (Christopher Walken) uses magic to trap his soul inside the pet cat. Tom, who was trapped in the pet cat's body, screamed for help, but his wife, daughter, and son didn't understand what it meant. All kinds of crazy behavior tried to attract everyone's attention, but it didn't help. When the owner of the pet store who knew cat language told him to think about why he was turned into a cat, Tom gradually stopped struggling and observed the lives of his wife, son, and daughter carefully, helping them get through it at a critical moment. The identity makes up for the lack of family companionship.
The expression of the whole film is permeated by the style of American comedy. It is lighthearted and humorous, with a lot of laughs. It uses exaggerated methods to show the importance of family and affection, convey the meaning of companionship to family members, and let the viewers feel the warmth in the hilarious laughter. I am touched by joy. The combination of the domineering president and the cute cat, the cat's behavior, and the father's heart complement each other, which makes this film unique in the way of expressing family affection. The author will analyze the following two points:
1. Outstanding expression
The male protagonist neglects his love and company for his family because he is too focused on his work, and he slowly makes up for it after he becomes a cat. Fantastic expressions fill the entire film: secretly drinking bourbon in the middle of the night; sneaking into his wife's car after "flying over the eaves", turning on the shredder to remind his son to pay attention to the ownership of the company's shares... This trip to "Meow Star" is not only a kind of reflection on the hero's neglect of family before, but also an experience of returning to the family and retrieving family affection. Accompanying her daughter to watch the video of them dancing together, seeing her crying, using balloons to turn her tearful eyes into a smile, a cat comforts his daughter; his son's rights in the company are violated, and he does his best to help... These emotional expressions converge into a cat's behavior, which is slightly clumsy but cute and warm.
This fantastic expression of the film, the "cute contrast" produced by the encounter between the domineering president and the "meow star", is full of comedic effect, making the viewers feel life in laughter and be moved sincerely. This emotion gradually ferments, brewing a touch of warmth. Liang Hongda once said in a program: "Film is an art created by human beings, and it reflects the beautiful emotions of human beings." When the film ends, sitting in the cinema and reluctant to stand up, when the end credits float by, it will The feeling it brings us is not extreme excitement, nor extreme sadness, but a faint, warm feeling, and this kind of human warmth is the driving force for many of us to move forward in the face of adversity. " This film had such an appeal, and it sparked the minds of the viewers. The male protagonist's living conditions have undergone great changes after the soul exchange.
This change also makes the viewers reflect on themselves, whether it is because of too much work. If you are busy and neglecting the family, whether you have not been attentive to managing your family for a long time, The balance between work and family is a problem that almost everyone in modern society has to face. The cute pet element in the film subtly reflects this problem, and also conveys the mainstream family values in the United States, expressing true feelings with the cuteness of animals, jumping out of the way From this point of view, the limitations of human beings, looking at their past and present from a different perspective, finding back what was missing, interesting stories, fantastic journeys, novel ways of expressing the most common family affection, from this point of view, this film is worthy of praise.
2. A different expression of fatherly love
A father's love is different from a mother's love. There are many ways to express a mother's love, but the expression of a father's love is not as rich as that of a mother's love. In various art forms, expressing a father's love may be slightly more difficult than expressing a mother's love. When it comes to fatherly love, what we think more of are touching films like "Knock on the Door of Happiness" and "Ride Alone for Thousands of Miles". "Nine Lives" is not too sensational, and the most portrayed is the CEO's turning into a cute cat. In the daily episodes after that, his sturdy style is still obvious, but gradually, the time he spends with his wife and daughter increases, and when he sees his daughter's attachment to him, his son is excluded from the company, especially when he hears his son say the first word When the first jump was the last jump, the emotion of being a father slowly poured into my heart, desperately running to the top of the building, using the cat's nine lives to save my son, just as the male protagonist in the film said: "love needs sacrifice." Feelings of affection from familyIt takes time, and it takes effort to maintain family relationships. Communication between relatives does not require a lot of conditions. Maybe it’s just a dance. As long as you spend a little time and energy, bridges are everywhere. This kind of display of fatherly love is fresh and natural. not obtrusive.
Secondly, as the president's father, he was always strong and respectful outside, and he was determined to build "the tallest building in the northern hemisphere". When he became a cute cat, he took off his mask, took off his burden, and conveyed his love to his children in a way that showed his true feelings. Deep concern: this kind of fatherly love is shown in a different and unique way. Sometimes, with the help of the cuteness of animals, we can break through many barriers, observe the feelings between people from a clearer perspective, and awaken the family that has been neglected for a long time.
To summarize
Through the story of "Nine Lives", it is not only to achieve the effect of fantasy comedy but also to reflect the social phenomenon of people in contemporary society. People neglect their families due to their busy work, and through the perspective of a cat, they arouse people's concern about family problems. Reflection, and while discovering common social problems, this film also gives the simplest solution-spend more time with your family, and there is no lack of warmth in hilarious laughter. At this level, "Nine Lives" can be said to be a masterpiece of social reflection.
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